If excellence in the classroom and on the field is what you're looking for, the Dellecave Awards is where you’ll find it.

They celebrated the 25th edition of the prestigious Butch Dellecave Awards, presented to Suffolk’s top scholar athletes, in grand fashion Sunday morning at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook.

“We wanted to do something special for our 25th year in my Dad’s memory,” said Mark Dellecave, the former director of athletics for the Connetquot School District. “Our athletic directors sent in such outstanding resumes, so we recognized three winners instead of two.”

There were 56 high schools represented, with each sending the top male and female student-athlete seniors to the annual Dellecave brunch.

Erin McDaid of Smithtown West, Jayden Stroman of Patchogue-Medford and Anthony Raio of Half Hollow Hills West were recognized as Suffolk’s top scholar student-athletes before an overflow crowd in the banquet hall of Villa Lombardi’s.

“I am extremely honored to be here with all these phenomenal student-athletes,” Stroman said. “The most impressive thing of all is that everyone in this room understands the importance of an education and how academics will always put you in a good position to succeed in life. The athletics can only take you so far and you always need that fallback position.”

The common thread through each of the winners was their concentration on school accomplishment first and then on to superiority in their athletic performance. All three have professional aspirations but know the classroom comes first.

Stroman, a hard-throwing righthander, has a fastball that has topped out at 98 miles per hour and is one of top high school prospects in the country. He had a 5-0 record and allowed just three hits and struck out 50 in 20 innings during the regular season. He also batted .456 with five home runs and 41 runs scored.

Stroman, the brother of Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman, will attend the invite-only MLB Combine in Arizona on June 17 as he has garnered interest from more than 20 organizations. He is expected to be selected in the early rounds of MLB's amateur draft in July.

Stroman, who accepted a full scholarship to attend Duke, was of the same mindset as Raio when speaking about the importance of time management.

“I have a tight schedule between school, training, playing and recovery,” he said. “If baseball doesn’t work out, I’ll take a path in the business world.”

Marcus Stroman won the Dellecave Award in 2009.

“I have a work ethic derived from my mom, dad and Marcus,” he said. “I’ve chosen a high-caliber academic institution to continue my schooling.”

Raio, who will lead the Half Hollow Hills boys lacrosse program on Wednesday in the state Class A semifinals in Middletown, was also floored by his selection. He was a record-setter in football and lacrosse for the Half Hollow Hills district.

“This is such a big honor,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family. You must value your time and be efficient in how and where you spend your hours. The balance of academics and athletics is unique in that you need to excel in both to be successful at the next level in college. Time management is important.”

Raio set the Long Island record for goals scored in a lacrosse career with 282. He also holds the Long Island record with 85 receptions in a single season in football.

Raio is also active in his community. When he’s not catching touchdown passes or scoring points via the pass or with a goal in lacrosse, he’s out helping others.

“I volunteer with the Lions Club and we deliver turkeys and food during Thanksgiving,” he said. “I also work with a giving table every year, which is like a pantry and people come in and get free cleaning supplies and food for the house. It’s rewarding when you know you’re doing good things in the community.”

Raio has his eyes on a business and finance degree at the University of North Carolina. He contemplated football and lacrosse but will stick with only playing lacrosse in his freshman year.

“I’d like to think there’ll be professional opportunities in lacrosse,” he said. “That’s down the road.”

McDaid finished her five-year varsity career as one of Long Island’s most dominant pitchers. She had a school-record 774 strikeouts and 50 varsity wins. She led Smithtown West to three wins in five contests against East Islip, the Suffolk champion.

McDaid accepted a scholarship to pitch for the College of Charleston in the Colonial Athletic Association. She said her parents had great influence on her on the mound and in the classroom.

“I started pitching at a very young age with my dad,” she said. “And mom pushes me to excel in the classroom and in the community.”

McDaid has a weighted grade point average of 4.3 and scored a 1,260 on her SAT. She has gone back to the Accompset Elementary School, where it all started, to help with the school's winter Olympics, carnival days and working with students. 

“The opportunity to be welcomed back and help out with young kids has really shaped me,” she said. “Giving back to others is important.”

McDaid will study political science in college.

The male finalists were Maxwell Bowers of St. John the Baptist, Michael Frankie of Bellport, Gavin Germain of Smithtown West and Michael Oliveto of Hauppauge.

The female finalists included, Molly Hiney of St. Anthony’s, Olivia Liddle of Patchogue-Medford, Haley Naslonski of Bay Shore, Devon St. John of Huntington and Sophia Virgilio of St. John the Baptist.

“The room was loaded with so many special student-athletes,” Dellecave said. “It’s nice to get that view of our future.”